'Rust' Armorer Breaks Silence, Blames Producers: I Have 'No Idea' Where Live Ammunition Came From

Rust head armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed broke her silence in a statement issued by her attorneys on Friday, in which she blamed producers, adding that she has “no idea” where the live rounds of ammunition came from, and that people have “slandered” her to the media.

“She would like to address some untruths that have been told to the media, which have falsely portrayed her and slandered her,” read the statement by Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys, Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence, posted to Twitter by MSNBC’s Yasmin Vossoughian.

“Safety is Hannah’s number one priority on set,” the statement continued. “Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from.”

Statement from Hannah Gutierrez Reid- Armorer on the Rust set. pic.twitter.com/S0CH5mVQgG

— yasminvossoughian (@yasminv) October 29, 2021

Last week, while on the set of Rust, actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing with a gun that he was told did not contain live ammunition. The actor later pulled the trigger, fatally shooting Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Gutierrez-Reed has since faced heavy scrutiny, as she was one of the few people who handled the firearm before it was given to Baldwin.

This was the person in charge of firearms on Baldwin’s production, no joke. @JUSTcatmeme2 pic.twitter.com/CcNbgGGmGC

— Franklin Sheckler 💡 (@FDSheckler) October 23, 2021

Along with Gutierrez-Reed, Rust assistant director Dave Halls — who handed the gun to Baldwin and told the actor it did not contain live rounds — has also been the subject of backlash. It has been reported that Halls was fired from a previous job after a gun went off on a set and wounded a member of the film crew.

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On Wednesday, investigators said there was “some complacency” in how weapons were handled on the movie set, but that it’s too soon to determine whether charges will be filed.

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Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies added that 500 rounds of ammunition — a mix of blanks, dummy rounds, and live rounds — were found while searching the film set.

Actors and crew members on set on of the movie “Rust.” Insider Edition/Serge Svetnoy/YouTube

“Hannah and the prop master gained control over the guns and she never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that,” the statement affirmed. “They were locked up every night and at lunch and there’s no way a single one of them was unaccounted for or being shot by crew members.”

The attorneys went on to assert that Gutierrez-Reed “has never had an accidental discharge” involving a firearm, and addressed two instances, one which they blamed on a prop master, and another they attributed to a stunt man, who they said was told he had a firearm “hot with blanks.”

“Hannah still, to this day, has never had an accidental discharge. The first one on this set was the prop master and the second one was a stunt man after Hannah informed him his gun was hot with blanks,” the attorneys maintained.

The statement also blamed the production itself for any difficulties Gutierrez-Reed had with her role as armorer.

“Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armorer,” read the statement, which went on to claim Gutierrez-Reed “fought” for firearm safety, but that her requests were ultimately overruled by production.

“She fought for training, days to maintain weapons, and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department,” the statement read. “The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including the lack of safety meetings. Rhnot[sic] the fault of Hannah.”

The attorneys conclude by saying that Gutierrez-Reed and her attorneys will be making an additional statement next week to “address more of these rumors and the whole incident.”

The statement also mentioned that Gutierrez-Reed was “devastated” by the death of Hutchins, who was described as “an inspirational woman in film who Hannah looked up to.”

“Hannah would like to extend her deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Halyna,” the statement read.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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